this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. in eastern ukraine — further fighting for control of lysycha nsk. the ukrainian army rejects russia's claims that the city is encircled. and passengers around the world face more travel disruption, as staff shortages continue to cause major problems. thousands of residents of australia's biggest city, sydney, have been ordered to evacuate their homes because of torrential rain and the threat of flooding. why the us supreme court's abortion decision is having an impact thousands of miles away — here in the uk. we had to call the police because protesters were shouting so loudly outside one of our clinics. there are plenty of groups with a

heart and a passion to see abortion overturned in this country, to make abortion history. hello, and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. this is bbc news. we start with some breaking news in the battle for city of lysychansk in eastern ukraine, part of the industrial donbas region that russia says focussing its military power on. lysychansk was the last ukrainian—held city in luhansk. but now, russian defence ministry says russian ministry says russian and separatists forces have full control of the city.

so russia is now claiming control over the entire luhansk region. there are reports of fighters in the city centre. and in another development, this time in russia, about 35 kilometres from the border with ukraine, an official in the belgorod says at least three people have been killed as a result of blasts there. the local governor said that explosions had partially destroyed 11 apartment buildings and at least 39 houses, and that the cause was being investigated, but russia has accused ukraine's military of the shelling. just to repeat that, breaking news in the battle for the city of lysychansk, in eastern ukraine, we are hearing that russians may have taken control of the city and we will bring you updates as soon as we get them. travellers are facing more disruption to their plans,

as the industry struggles with staff shortages ahead of a busy holiday period. in the us, 1,000 flights have been cancelled across independence day weekend. while here in the uk, holiday—makers are being told to expect more flight cancellations over the next few days. the bbc�*s azadeh moshiri reports. it's scenes like this that airlines and the uk government want to avoid. but after months of travel chaos, which included the easter and jubilee holidays, passengers now face more disruptions in the days ahead. what you are going to see over the next few days are thousands of flight cancellations by british airways and others, because they have a window in which they can effectively hand back the slots that they use for taking off and landing at airports like heathrow. and with this window, it means there is no penalty for them. they also want to give consumers more than 1a days notice

of any cancellation, because if they give more than two weeks notice, they won't have to pay compensation to those of us who find flights are cancelled. so the next few days are going to be very tricky indeed. staff shortages have been causing long queues at airports and severe problems with baggage handling. after thousands of aviation jobs were lost during the covid pandemic, businesses have struggled to hire new staff in time for the holidays. that's why ministers have said security checks are being turned around in record time for new recruits. the department of transport has even said counterterrorist checks are being processed on average in under ten days. that is half the time it took in march. in a statement, transport secretary grant shapps said...

but labour argue the government have been missing in action and are now ' —u . simply play|ng catch p the same issues plaguing other countries. in the united states, it is a holiday weekend, with the country celebrating independence day on the 4th ofjuly. a shortage of pilots and crew has meant that airlines have cancelled more than 1000 flights. meanwhile, in the uk, with airlines due to fix their schedules by friday, it means a nervous few days for passengers. we return to the breaking news that russia is claiming it now controls the whole of the luhansk region in eastern ukraine. i'm joined now by yuriy sak, he's the spokesman for the ukrainian ministry of defense.

we are hearing that these russian claims that troops have full control over lysycha nsk. claims that troops have full control over lysychansk. what is your understanding of the situation out there? ., ~' ,, understanding of the situation out there? ., ~ i. ., . there? thank you for inviting me. we have been hearing _ there? thank you for inviting me. we have been hearing these _ there? thank you for inviting me. we have been hearing these plans - have been hearing these plans actually from yesterday, and these claims have not been confirmed yet by the ukraine's general staff, the armed forces of ukraine, or by the local administration and authorities, but what we can say with certainty, of course, is a situation in lysychansk has been very intense for quite a while now, after the battle for lysychansk very intense for quite a while now, after the battle for lysycha nsk was the key focus of the russian offensive, the ground forces have been nonstop, the city was under intense artillery fire, must the net missile fire, aerial bombardment, ——

missile fire, aerial bombardment, —— missile fire. as we have been saying, minister of defence confirmed a few days ago, ukrainians, value of human life is top priority, so sometimes we may retreat from certain areas, just so that we will fight back in the future. ., ., . ., , ., future. there are other claims that russia is in — future. there are other claims that russia is in cycling _ future. there are other claims that russia is in cycling in _ future. there are other claims that russia is in cycling in ukrainian - russia is in cycling in ukrainian troops, all the town itself. what is your take on that? —— are circling. trying to encircle ukrainian troops in eastern ukraine, in the luhansk in eastern ukraine, in the luhansk in donetsk regions has been the russian tactics from the beginning, of this aggressive war. they very often claim that they have completed the encirclement but very often, these claims are not being corroborated, so at the moment, we can say that the city is still not under full control of the russian armed forces, and as for the

encirclement, of course, they are trying to achieve that, but ukrainian armed forces are resisting very heroically and very determinedly, to allow this to not happen. if determinedly, to allow this to not ha en, , , ., determinedly, to allow this to not hauen. ,, ., ., , happen. if russia does take lysychansk. _ happen. if russia does take lysychansk, the _ happen. if russia does take lysychansk, the last - happen. if russia does take lysychansk, the last major| lysychansk, the last major stronghold in the luhansk region, is its game over in the donbas region? this will by far not be the game overfor this will by far not be the game over for the donbas area this will by far not be the game overfor the donbas area because there are other large cities in the donbas area, in a donetsk region. two cities which are now fully are controlled by the ukrainian forces, as well as a couple of others, that have been targets for very severe missile attacks, artillery shelling, in particular this morning, there have been reports of a missile strike of one city, so fans can as

well, undershelling, but the strike of one city, so fans can as well, under shelling, but the battle for the donbas is not over yet, and support continues to be received from our western allies, and we will receive other types of weaponry with the to allow us to go on the offensive, temporarily occupied by the western aggressors.— offensive, temporarily occupied by the western aggressors. finally, we still have you. _ the western aggressors. finally, we still have you, what _ the western aggressors. finally, we still have you, what is _ the western aggressors. finally, we still have you, what is the _ the western aggressors. finally, we still have you, what is the response| still have you, what is the response to the response from russia that keith has fired the missiles? we have lost keith has fired the missiles? - have lost count over the last few weeks, of in belgrade, that they have said this, —— belgorod, many times has been intercepted phone calls from russian servicemen which

prove that sometimes, most often, these types of activities are the actual provocations by the russian side of themselves, so while there is no official confirmation of the ukrainian side of particularly what has happened there, but what we can say is that in the past, we have seen similar explosions and they have been the result of russian provocations, which they carry out themselves. find provocations, which they carry out themselves-— provocations, which they carry out themselves. �* , , ., themselves. and 'ust in terms of... you mentioned — themselves. and just in terms of... you mentioned western _ themselves. and just in terms of... you mentioned western support, . you mentioned western support, there, in terms of weapons assistance, do you have enough, does ukraine have what it needs at the moment? we ukraine have what it needs at the moment? ~ ., ukraine have what it needs at the moment? ~ . . , moment? we are receiving very important _ moment? we are receiving very important assistance _ moment? we are receiving very important assistance in - moment? we are receiving very important assistance in our - moment? we are receiving very - important assistance in our systems, such as arrest systems, heavy artillery canons... and they are being used very efficiently on the front lines already, which allows ukrainian forces for example a few days ago, we were able to liberate

the strategically important snake islands in the black sea. 0ur islands in the black sea. our president, for ukraine to be able to stop this war sooner, to be able to protect europe from the russian aggression, and from the spread of this invasion further west, we need more heavy weaponry and we need more of these systems, multi—locking systems, air defence systems, tanks, aircraft, and we need them more and in larger quantities. qm. aircraft, and we need them more and in larger quantities.— in larger quantities. 0k, thank you very much- — in larger quantities. 0k, thank you very much- a _ in larger quantities. 0k, thank you very much. a spokesman - in larger quantities. 0k, thank you very much. a spokesman for- in larger quantities. 0k, thank you very much. a spokesman for the l very much. a spokesman for the ukrainian ministry of defence. next... thousands of residents of australia's biggest city, sydney, have been ordered to evacuate their homes because of torrential rain and the threat of flooding. the weather bureau says it expects heavy rainfall along the east coast region, which will intensify over the next two days. the rain has hit at the beginning of school holidays, and people have been asked not to travel in the region. the emergency services say it's a life—threatening situation and warn of flash flooding,

and coastal erosion. the level of the dams, there is no room for the water to remain in the dams. they are starting to spill. the rivers are flowing very fast and very dangerous, and then we have the risk of flash flooding depending on where the rains are. there is a lot of risk out there that our community needs to be aware of. i ask you to heed the warnings. six new claims of inappropriate behaviour by the former british conservative deputy chief whip, chris pincher, have emerged just days after he was suspended from the party for allegedly groping two men. the accusations — reported in several of today's newspapers — stretch back more than a decade. mr pincher has not responded to the bbc over the latest allegations, but denied them to the newspapers. an official investigation into his conduct has been launched. earlier, our political correspondent helen catt gave me this update on the latest allgations. these are claims that appeared in three sunday newspapers, the mail on sunday, the sunday times

and the independent. as you said, they span a number of years, the oldest dating back a decade. now, three of these claims relate to chris pincher making unwanted advances towards male mps. on one occasion in a parliamentary bar, in another occasion in his parliamentary office, there's also an allegation that a party staffer had alleged that she had tried to stop him making an advance on a young man at a conservative conference. now, no official complaints were made. and as you said, chris pincher has denied the allegations to the papers, although he hasn't responded to the bbc�*s request for comment. he did put out a statement last night responding to the allegations from last week. in the wake of those, he said that he was truly sorry for the upset that he had caused and that he was seeking professional medical support. and have we heard anything from downing street? well, downing street hasn't commented on these fresh claims. and of course, what these stories in the papers have done is to raise

once again questions around what borisjohnson knew and when. so last week, downing street was saying that he had not been aware of any specific allegations about chris pincher when he appointed him as deputy chief whip in february. the bbc have been told that a number of mps had contacted downing street at the time to raise concerns. there's a report in one of the papers today that says that one of the mps involved in one of these alleged incidents, had told downing street about what he said had happened to him. what downing street was saying earlier in the week was that in the absence of any formal complaint, it hadn't been appropriate to stop an appointment on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations. and that is a line that the cabinet minister, therese coffey, has been repeating this morning. continuing with that, speaking earlier, the work and pensions secretary therese coffey was asked if borisjohnson knew of previous allegations against chris pincher before he appointed him as deputy chief whip. the prime minister has not been aware of specific allegations

against chris pincher. as people will know, chris underwent an investigation, back in 2017, after a formal allegation was made, he was investigated and theresa may reappointed him, that promoted him to the role of deputy chief whip at that time, but since then, chris has continued to serve in a government and what it is important to think about what has happened in the last week, specific allegations were made, and very proactive decision was made to remove the whip, as well as chris had already resigned from government. boris johnson's pledge to build a0 new hospitals by 2030 is facing a review from the government's spending watchdog. the national audit office intends to conduct a "value for money review" later this year. the bbc understands only five nhs trusts are currently building a new hospital. labour accused the tories of "overpromising and underdelivering". the department of health and social care said the first of the a0 new hospitals "opened for patients last year and a further six are under construction".

it's little more than a week since the us supreme court overturned the automatic right to have an abortion — but the effects of that landmark ruling are already being felt outside of the us. here in the uk, staff at some women's clinics are reporting larger numbers of anti—abortion protestors gathering outside — which they say is causing distress to patients. 0ur religion editor aleem maqbool has been finding out more. the lord's prayer, opposite an abortion clinic in london, in footage taken by a member of staff there. 0ne provider told us there's been a noticeable increase in protest activity in the uk since news emerged that abortion rights would be overhauled in the us. regularly, anti—abortion protesters stand directly outside our clinic entrances, approaching women as they go in. they will call them �*mummy�* for example, hand them literature saying �*abortion

causes breast cancer�*. and you have heard reports to that effect in recent days? yes, absolutely. just yesterday, we had an incident in which we had to call the police because protesters were shouting so loudly outside one of our clinics that the women in the treatment rooms could hear them while they were undergoing their procedures. in this country, on the whole, it remains a very low number of anti—abortionists who go to stand outside of clinics, and a handful of local authorities have introduced measures to keep them away from women accessing treatment. that's not to say that anti—abortion groups haven't been buoyed by recent news from the us. just as culture here impacts what happens in the united states, so what happens in the united states impacts what happens here. but there just isn't the momentum behind the kind of campaign here. momentum can build. there are plenty of, uh, there are plenty of groups with a heart and a passion to see abortion overturned in this country,

to make abortion history. christian concern might want that but it's not a realistic prospect. there was a recent court case brought by heidi crowter to move towards ending the possibility of late—term abortions on the grounds of disability like down syndrome. i am really upset not to win. the case was lost but will be heard at the court of appeal later this month. at the moment abortion is still technically a criminal offence in england, scotland and wales, except when there's substantial risk the child would have mental or physical abnormalities, the life of the pregnant woman's at risk, or there's risk of harm to the pregnant woman's physical or mental health. the vast majority of abortions here are signed off by doctors under the last provision. butjust as events in the us appeared to be encouraging anti—abortion voices here, pro—choice activists hope it'll galvanise support to decriminalise abortion. aleem maqbool, bbc news.

protesters in libya say they'll continue demonstrating until the ruling elite steps down. marches have taken place in cities across the country as living conditions deteriorate and a political deadlock continues. the united nations has called for calm after crowds stormed parliament and torched part of the building on friday. kate peevor reports.

libya's parliament in flames. protesters were marching in several cities, but it was here in the eastern city of tobruk that their anger was on full display. despite it being an oil rich country, that wealth hasn't trickled down to the people. libya has been suffering continued power cuts and rising prices. and since its ruler, colonel muammar gaddafi, was ousted more than ten years ago, the country has been locked in chaos. but in the light of day, not all people in libya approved of their parliament being torched. translation: yes, these protesters are under the poverty line. _ they don't have money and can't have a decent life, not even food. we support them and support their rights, but not the way they did it. what happened after sunset, like the destruction of libyan buildings and public properties, is considered a shame for the city of tobruk. with the country struggling through political deadlock. the protesters have specific demands. they want all ruling bodies to give

up their powers and want elections that were originally scheduled for last december to be finally held. the un has said the protests should be a clarion call for the political class to put their differences aside. until that happens, protesters have vowed to step up the pressure. kate peevor, bbc news. to greece now, which has welcomed the first in more than a 200 firefighters from other european countries who are going to help them contain summer wildfires. last year, following the worst heatwave in decades, a spate of wild caused devastation across the country. the first european firefighters from romania and bulgaria have arrived in greece along with their fire trucks. they will be joined by colleagues from france, finland, germany and norway. the project is being funded by the eu's civil protection mechanism and the greek government is grateful. translation: we thank you very much for coming to help us _ during a difficult summer for our country and for proving that european solidarity is notjust theoretical, it's real. greece is on high alert this year. the government conscious of the anger that followed last year's devastating fires

and what was seen as their slow response. this year, they have boosted firefighting capacity and the european forces will provide crucial back—up. translation: france has. a strong knowledge when it comes to forest fires, particularly around the mediterranean region, so this mission will be an opportunity for very interesting discussions with the greek firefighters. we will see what they have to teach us, what we can teach them and how it will benefit both sides. this is what they have come to prevent. in two weeks last august, more than 116,000 hectares went up in smoke on evia just 80km east of athens, laying waste to homes, pine forests, olive groves and livestock after the worst heatwave in 30 years. the european firefighters will be on standby with the local groups during the hottest months, july and august, all hoping that history will not repeat itself. gail maclellan, bbc news.

a couple from the english county of northumberland have raised 22 young ospreys — they used to be extinct here but now one forest is seeing a population boom. alison freeman caught up with their latest arrivals. a sign of success. two ospreys, who are the most prolific pair of breeders here at kielder forest, are nurturing and unprecedented for chicks this year. each of them named after a different landmark in northumberland, it is time for the siblings to be ringed so there are future movements can be recorded. they are also weighed and they are six determined if possible. this is a great size to ring them, when they've got lots of feathers like this. the young one, the runt as we call them, that's unusual to be that small, the difference. but it's because there is a brood of four, which in itself is most unusual. and exciting, you know? it's fantastic to have four chicks out of one nest when normally we only get two,

occasionally three. to have a brood of four is very exciting. so they are surprisingly docile, martin. why is that? basically, if you live up in a nest like that with nowhere to hide, it's completely open, the last thing you want to do is run around. so they freeze. as soon as that adult calls, theyjust drop down on the nest and don't move, freeze. and their camouflage, you can see all these white spots on their backs, itjust blends into the nest. so any potential predator flying over won't notice them — that's the idea. osprey squawks. in the skies above, mum and dad call out — a fish in dad's talons. and it's the skill of this couple, kielder�*s oldest established breeding pair, together since 2013, that is part of the key to their success as parents. she is a very good mother, looks after them well, broods them well, feeds them well, and he is a generally very good provider of fish. so they are a great couple to watch. they have raised 22 chicks to fledging successfully, and given that we should get to 100

fledgling chicks this year at kielder forest, that's nearly 25% of the population that are fledged to successfully come from this nest. when you're ready. 0spreys were once extinct as breeding pairs in the uk, but kielder is one of the areas that's been successful in attracting them, erecting nesting poles. and joanna has witnessed their success on her travels to africa, where the birds spend winter. it was this year, in february, when i was staying at a lodge in casamance, southern senegal. and we were watching birds flying around the lagoon there and one flew towards us and i could see that it had a blue ring. and i was taking photographs of it, and when i zoomed in it was one from here, from last year, and it was from the most important nest last year, in the sense that it was the first kielder grandchick, and that was him. and he flew past me where i was staying. how could you ever say that could happen? and it's relating to the... yeah, it's his grandchild. yeah. so that was just total bliss. well done. the chicks are expected to fledge in the next few weeks,

and it's hoped that they will go on to help the uk's osprey population grow. alison freeman, bbc news, northumberland. what a wonderful story. and before we go, let me show you some pictures coming in to us live from cologne in germany. this is where people are celebrating christopher street day. generally�*s answer to the pride parade, following on from 1 million people descending to london for the 50th pride parade. that is it from me, thank you for watching bbc news. hello. a dry and reasonably sunny afternoon on the way for many, but there's still a few showers dotted around today, not as many as yesterday, but one or two. they've been across western areas so far, largely today. they are going to be across eastern areas for the afternoon,

some drifting through the midlands, towards the southeast as well. it does mean western areas are a good deal drier and brighter if you start to the day cloudy here, breezy across the north of scotland, but even here brightening up relative to the morning and temperatures, 13, 1a degrees in that breeze, whereas you could get up to 23 in the southeast corner. some isolated showers in east anglia in the southeast this evening, most will fade and then only showers really through scotland, isolated ones, northern ireland, maybe north west england as we go through the night. temperatures as we start monday morning, around 10 to 13 degrees, mornings dry, bright start for many could be just a few isolated showers drifting during the morning southwards across england and wales, further scattering of showers. scotland, the odd one, northern ireland, north west england. but really most of you will have a dry day on monday. sunny spells and pleasant enough in the sunshine too.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... in eastern ukraine, further

fighting for control of lysycha nsk. the ukrainian army rejects russia's claims that the city is encircled passengers around the world face more travel disruption as staff shortages continue to cause major problems. thousands of residents of australia's biggest city, sydney, have been ordered to evacuate their homes because of torrential rain and the threat of flooding. and greece welcomes the first of more than two—hundred foreign firefighters — going in to help contain summer wildfires. now on bbc news, the supreme court's abortion ruling, repealing roe v wade and ending the nationwide guarantee to abortion has divided america. some 26 states are now expected to ban or restrict abortion in the next few months. the bbc�*s sophie long spent three weeks on the front line of the debate with staff, patients and protestors at the little rock family planning service in arkansas, as they waited for

the court's ruling. in a ruling that rocked america, the supreme court of the united states scrapped the constitutional right to abortion. people told me it was impossible, that we would never see this kind of victory. and now i know that victory is not only possible, it has happened. is not only possible, it has happened-— is not only possible, it has ha ened. ,, ., ., , ., happened. seldom does a ruling result in such _ happened. seldom does a ruling result in such a _ happened. seldom does a ruling result in such a reaction. - happened. seldom does a ruling i result in such a reaction. abortions will continue. _ result in such a reaction. abortions will continue, they _ result in such a reaction. abortions will continue, they just _ result in such a reaction. abortions will continue, they just will - result in such a reaction. abortions will continue, they just will not - result in such a reaction. abortions will continue, theyjust will not be | will continue, theyjust will not be legal and women will die from botched abortions. this decision will impact _ botched abortions. this decision will impact the _ botched abortions. this decision will impact the lives _ botched abortions. this decision will impact the lives of - botched abortions. this decision will impact the lives of millionsl botched abortions. this decision l will impact the lives of millions of americans. we were with medical staff inside an abortion clinic in the final days before they were